


Forgotten Youth

by skele_smol



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, Developing Friendships, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Other, agnst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22029937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skele_smol/pseuds/skele_smol
Summary: ~ On Hiatus til Further Notice ~Louis’s tidy dreads bounce about his ears as the lanky teen prances out from the gloom, ever the one to find and bask in the spotlight even as his smiles outshine the sun, the world around him his stage. One of the pianist’s hand holds the heavy oak door wide open for the girl following behind him, the sylphlike blonde saunters out a few steps before she pauses, waiting for the youth to join her at her side. And join her he does, his palm coming up discreetly to cup her elbow even as his soft doe eyes catch on Clementine’s for just a moment before he leans close to Violet, murmuring something to her before the unlikely pair descend the wide stone steps carefully to the courtyard below.After the events of the final season, Clementine and her friends have finally found peace. On a particular night, Clementine can't seem to get a single question out of her mind. How did Louis and Violet become such close friends?
Relationships: Louis & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Minerva/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	Forgotten Youth

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, another new fic, this time a collab with GoofyGomez. He is an amazing Clouis writer that everyone should go check out.
> 
> Me and Gomez will be alternating writing the chapters, first chapter was written by skele, with Gomez helping with edits, the next chapter is his.

**Forgotten Youth.**

Chapter.1: Back to how it all started. 

Safely tucked within the dense West Virginian forests a teenage girl sits alone. Her idle fingers trace over the names, foreign to her, carved into the treated pine of the picnic table as she awaits the cooling touches of the creeping dusk. Here she is safe. They all are. Hidden behind the boundaries of an old -still strong- redbrick wall where only the shadowed fingers of cedar and birch can touch them. They dapple the abused wood, their leaves flickering in the waning summer sunset like candlelight, creating new shapes and pictures to cast against her caramel skin.

Clementine sighs softly, hand coming up to cup her chin and elbow propping against the edge of the table as tawny eyes swept around the courtyard. Omar slowly limps toward the dugout fire pit, the banked embers still smoking, thins wisps of white smoke dancing on the breeze. In his hands he carries the newly cleaned cooking pot, returning the blackened steel to its rightful place above the dying fire, ready to turn whatever ingredients deposited inside into a delicious meal in the morning. Behind her, a shrill whistle cuts through the air, bouncing across the broken paving slabs and high brick walls and bringing Clementine’s head snapping round in time to see the gates swing open, permitting entrance to a trio of familiar faces and a strong, stocky pitbull who charges on ahead.

Clementine’s relieved gaze falls to Aasim first. The youth made for an impressive sight as he strides confidently, a dead and trussed hare dangling over his shoulder, and his bow in hand. A smile graces his lips as his murmurs something and his other hand gently curls around one of Ruby’s, the stocky southern belle giggles quietly in her musical little lilt. Her free hand grasps a bucket overflowing with wild herb cuttings, edible flowers, and seasonal root vegetables and her pretty, rounded face turns down to the boy at her side. AJ also carries a bucket, though he has to cling to the heavy object with both his hands, a relieving indication that the last-minute hunt was tremendously successful. A clever thought put forward to Clementine by one of her still absent friends. With the summer days burning longer, it made more sense to send a hunting party out in the evening and morning, before the heat became unbearable and prey would become scarce, hiding out underground where it was dark and cool.

His turn on lookout duty complete with the return of the hunters, Willy scrambles down from the watch platform and happily joins the trio striding over to hand off their bounty to Omar, his hazel eyes bright and eager as he talks quietly albeit animatedly with AJ. Handing off their offerings, both Aasim and Ruby exchange quiet words with the chef before disappearing inside the admin building, Ruby to take inventory of their medical supplies as per Clementine’s request from earlier that day, and Aasim to collect his books and maps to transcribe the days events and mark where new prey had been found in their territory. Leaving the two youngest survivors of the group to assist Omar in cleaning the hare and filleting the fish still in AJ’s bucket, while also sorting through the bucket of vegetables and fauna Ruby had supplied.

The sun slips down lower in the sky, just barely dipping behind the horizon. Rich, red hues bled through oranges, purples, and crimsons, the day and night separated by an inferno that split the heavens. Painting the people, Clementine’s people, with the same determined fire that burned deep within the muscle beating fiercely within each breast. And Clementine is proud. She has every reason to be. They have earned that right through bloodshed and injury, through their strength and courage, and with their grief and loss. Despite it all, this little group of the unwanted and the forgotten have persevered and risen above all expectations to stand tall and defiant against those who viewed them as less, both before and after the fall of civilization.

For a few minutes, the brunette allows her thoughts to wander. Her thick lashes slipping shut and her mind easing into senseless thoughts before finally drifting into nothingness. For a few minutes, Clementine clears her mind of her responsibilities and her endless worries, slipping into an almost meditative state, and there she remains until her shoulders relax and drop down a little lower. When her lashes part once more, she sighs an easy breath as she sharpens her vision just in time to observe the door that leads into the admin building open, revealing to the summers eve the last two of the group. Louis’s tidy dreads bounce about his ears as the lanky teen prances out from the gloom, ever the one to find and bask in the spotlight even as his smiles outshine the sun, the world around him his stage. One of the pianist’s hand holds the heavy oak door wide open for the girl following behind him, the sylphlike blonde saunters out a few steps before she pauses, waiting for the youth to join her at her side. And join her he does, his palm coming up discreetly to cup her elbow even as his soft doe eyes catch on Clementine’s for just a moment before he leans close to Violet, murmuring something to her before the unlikely pair descend the wide stone steps carefully to the courtyard below.

There’s a tease of a smile playing at the corners of her lips as Clementine watches her two closest friends meander their way to the picnic table that the girl had seated herself at. Every few steps, Louis’s fingers would come to touch Violet’s elbow and their direction would alter slightly, their path changing with every few steps that their journey took them. As the pair drew closer Clementine could see the little twist of determination on the blonde’s lips and how her brow would furrow in concentration as she moved. Clementine could hear Louis’s voice, low and warm and endlessly patient, delivering to Violet a running commentary of where it was safe for her to land her steps, his touches to his friends elbow lessening as her confidence grew. 

“Hey, guys.” Clementine greets the two warmly, her voice laced with faux cheer. Her eyes moving to the blonde as she pats her palms over the battered pine of the bench and table, before thumping heavily to her rear and sighing softly. There was always just a little throb of grief and a little pang of guilt in the brunette’s chest when she thought back to that night. The night that had claimed not only her leg, but Violet’s eyesight. She still spends nights in her room, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep, punishing herself for not being fast enough, for not being good enough…

“You’re doing it again.”

Violet’s voice rasps and drags the younger girl from her self inflicted beratement. Blinking away her surprise and finding herself staring into a single eye of clouded green surrounded by a sea of raw and webbed scars. “Hmmm?”

“Giving yourself shit and making yourself feel shitty.” Violet taps her index finger to her own temple. “In here. I can’t see it, but I know you’re doing it, so knock it off.”

Clementine’s eyes widen briefly before she slides them over to the tall boy, now lounging, lax and languid, right between the two girls and grinning brightly at the brunette’s confusion. “She does, y’know.” He says, bringing his hand up and tousling the fine ashen strands on Violet’s head fondly, laughing when she slaps his hand away. “Vi’s like a freaking superhero now.”

Violet grumbles quietly, arms folding up and fingers tucking into her armpits. Her damaged eye rolls, leading the charge as her entire body appears to ripple after it. “Yeah, right. I’m Blind-as-a-Batgirl. My superpower is finding and tripping over every fucking crack in the floor.”

“You barely stumbled. You practically lead me.”

“Whatever.” The blonde snorts rudely, but Louis and Clementine can both see how her lips twitch in the barest hint of a smile before she switches and is all business again. “Did the second hunting shift work out, or..?”

Clementine’s lips curl into a soft smile of her own. Of course Violet was curious, she had been the one who made the suggestion. While the brunette is very much so the leader of their little group, her own disability continues to make her painfully aware that she is incapable to fulfill some of the more physical duties that come in the job description. These tasks, she passes off to Louis. After the teens promises that fateful night, standing covered in the stinking intestines and putrid blood of a walker and about to walk with a herd to rescue his friends, he has indeed stepped up and embraced his responsibilities admirably. But for Violet, a girl who has always been fiercely independent and courageous, the first to race into battle, wielding either her cleaver or bow, the loss of her eyesight means that she has been relegated to -for a lack of a better word- a spectator. It was a loss that she had taken particularly personally and straight to heart, convincing herself that sightless meant useless. Until Clementine sought her out one morning to talk, reminding the blonde gently but firmly that, together, they had come up with a fairly solid plan and built up pretty good defenses against Lilly and her child-snatching asshats within two short weeks. Finding relief in the blonde’s shy little smile when Clementine’s arm slipped around her shoulders and told her, that while she may be sightless she is so very far from useless.

Now, the three of them act as a single entity and one single mind. Each of them supporting the others’ shortcomings and disabilities. They are more than just friends, they are a team.

And every evening, after the rest of their group has taken themselves away to bed, the three of them come together to discuss the day’s events, bring up concerns and plan their best course of action for the new day. Tonight is no different. However, with little to discuss beyond confirming the success of Violet’s idea to split the whole day hunting in the blazing heat into two short runs at the cooler parts of the day, their time together very quickly slips into pleasure rather than business.

While the blonde and brunette talk quietly, Louis slips his hand to his pocket and grins. His fingers fondling a familiar stack of dog-eared cards. 

“Ladies,” His grin pulls wider as tawny eyes, threaded with gold and a single washed-out green lift and fix upon his beaming face. Positive that he has their full attention, the charming youth dials his smile up to a thousand and withdraws the deck of cards from the recess of his pocket. His movements quick and fingers nimble as he skillfully shuffles the deck. “The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things-”

Clementine laughs and Violet sighs and still their friend smiles his delight.

“Of shoes- and ships- and sealing wax. Of cabbages- and Kings.”

“Seriously, Louis?” There’s that little hint of amusement in Violet’s voice that always undercuts her sharpness with the boy. A fondness that she denies is there despite everyone knowing it is. “Alice in Wonderland, that’s the quote of choice for tonight?”

“Through the Looking-Glass, actually.” The boy corrects, his fingers still mixing the cards in his grasp even as he shoots a wink to Clementine. “And yes, it is. It’s a good book. A childhood staple. Surely you must have read it.”

Violet shrugs and scratches at the back of her neck. “Never was much of a bookworm. But, I did watch the Disney movie though, it was okay. Kinda weird.”

“The book was better.” Louis declares firmly, dealing each a stack of cards before taking the blonde’s wrist and guiding her fingers to her own pile. “Maybe I can read it to you one day. I’m almost positive that the library has a copy or two.” He tilts his head to Clementine next. “You and AJ are welcome to join. It’s nice to perform for an audience of more than one.”

Clementine nods and collects her own hand of cards, her eyes narrowing as she neatens the pile. “Sure, yeah. Actually sounds like a nice thing to do with the whole group.” Content with the stack, now neat, in front of her, Clementine’s eyes slip over to observe the blonde struggling with her own. “Uh, not to dampen the good spirits of tonight, but-”

“But?” Louis prompts.

“But isn’t playing cards a little-” She pauses, weighing her words carefully. “- insensitive to Vi?”

Louis, ever the drama queen, slaps his palm to his chest and sucks in a sharp, overly exaggerated gasp. “You wound me, Clem. To even suggest that I might take advantage of our sweet little Violet’s situation.”

Clementine’s brow quirks at her friend’s dramatic offense. “I never _said_ you’d take advantage. So you mentioning it means that you were thinking about it.”

“He wouldn’t dare, Clem.” With idle hands tapping the edge of her share of the deck against the tabletop, Violet tilts her head. Blonde strands sliding and scattering across her brow as her unfocused gaze falls to her bickering friends. “Last time he tried to cheat me, I kicked his ass. So, blind or not, he knows better than to try that shit again.”

Picking up his own pile and shifting in his seat, Louis shoots his blonde friend a sly smirk as he clears his throat. “Do I?”

“You’d better!”

Clementine nibbles on the edge of her smile caught between her teeth, caught up in her friends’ banter. It was like watching a beautifully chaotic dance, the way that they would exchange quips and jabs and pull warm little chuckles and amused snorts from each other. Louis was naturally charismatic, charming and playful. Anyone who had spent any amount of time in his company would be well aware of his humour… but it was the way he so easily pulls Violet out of her shell that truly fascinates her. She was so witty and relaxed when she was with him, less so with the others, it was like he just knew how to draw the playfulness out of her along with her warmth and genuine smiles.

“Okay, I’ve gotta ask,” The brunette says quietly, her eyes turning down and watching her thumb as it flicks the corner of the topmost card in her pile, purposefully avoiding the way that her two friends turn their focus on her now as she mumbles the rest of her words. “You two are so close you could be siblings, but your personalities are just so different. How does something like that even happen without Violet, y’know killing you?”

Setting his cards back onto the table and folding his arms over the back of his chair, Louis smirks as he rests his chin against his pillowed arms and glances at Violet. “Well, I think Clem’s picked her question for tonight.” He rolls his head around lazily to lock his gaze onto the brunette, his smirk morphing into a grin. “Now all she has to do is win a hand.”

“Which could take a while.” Violet joins in. Her fingers already grasping the top card in her hand. “Clem does tend to have the shittiest of shit luck whenever we play.”

“Oh, shut up losers.” Her laughter is bright and bubbly as Clementine joins her friends in revealing her first card, though it very quickly ebbs and dies in her throat when she sees the card she’s drawn. “Fuck!”

Louis laughs loudly, long and uproariously. He laughs until his chest burns and his sides ache. Clementine shoots him a withering scowl as she tosses her two of clubs down on the table and he wipes away his tears of mirth.

“I’m guessing Clem’s losing streak continues?” Violet ventures, her own lips curving up into an easy smile as she flips her own card, one not much better than Clementine’s, down.

“You guess correctly, Violet. Lucky Louis strikes again.” He tosses his own card down, a Jack of hearts. “Soooo. Seeing as Clem is so very interested in our friendship, I think we should ask _her_ about friendship.” She brings his elbows toward himself, fingers lacing beneath his chin as he raises his brow. “Out of the two of us, who would you say is your best friend?”

The silence that descends between the trio is palpable. It’s almost as though Clementine could feel it oozing over her skin as Louis leans closer, expectantly. Sucking her tongue against her teeth she glances over to Violet, and even she seems to be leaning in closer, leg bent in front of her and heel tucked against her rear, in a flimsy attempt at faux nonchalance. “Honestly?” Mischievous eyes of tawny gold met soft bambi brown, golden flecks catching in the light of dying embers and winking starlight. The brunette leans in close, as though about to share a well-kept secret. “Probably Violet.”

“Ouch!” Violet’s laughter curls high into the air, ringing melodic as Louis’s voice whimpers dramatically. “You wound me, Clem.”

Clementine pulls back, her arms crossing over her chest and head tilting. “You shouldn’t have asked if you didn’t wanna know.”

Louis’s nose wrinkles and brow furrows, bottom lip protruding in an overly dramatic pout. His expression causes the younger teen to chuckle throatily, her chuckles escalating into rich laughter when Violet leans over and nudges the boy with her elbow. “Can’t blame the girl for having good taste, Lou.”

“I can, and I will.”

“Baby.” Violet fingers the edges of her next card, eager to draw and continue the game. “Draw again?”

Both Clementine and Louis murmur their agreement, each pulling a second card from their respective hands and comparing their draws. There’s a curious little flash of surprise lighting up behind Clementine’s eyes, brightening her expression as she crows in triumph. “Ha! Read it and weep suckers. A Queen!”

Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Clem.” Violet grumbles quietly, but without any heat behind the words. She tosses her losing card toward the center as she sighs. “So, who pulled the lowest?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Louis says, placing his own atop of Violet’s. “We know exactly what Clem’s question is, and it’s aimed at us both.”

“Damn right!” Clementine boasts, leaning herself back a little on one palm, her other fanning herself with her winning card pinched between her thumb and forefinger. For a moment she’s content to let the two stew, basking in her own private celebration.

“Jesus Christ, Clem,” the blonde suddenly blurts, her level of patience proving to be less than that of her two companions. “Just spit it out already! We know what you wanna ask, so just ask!”

“Alright. Alright, jeez.” Clementine reluctantly relents in her gloating. Leaning her elbows against the table and she hunkers closer, eyes dancing in excitement and delight. “How did the two of you become friends?”

“That, my darlin’ Clementine,” Louis begins with a dramatic flourish of his hands. His fingers collecting the remaining piles and discarded cards and shuffling them back into a single stack. “Is a very long and rather interesting tale to share. So, grab a snack and prepare yourself for one hell of a ride as we take you back to the beginning, and to how it all started.”


End file.
